Overview & Reviews

Acura is an upscale automaker known for offering cars with impressive levels of luxury, features and performance. It's come a long way in a short time, however, as the history of Acura is relatively brief. Parent company Honda introduced the Acura brand to the U.S. market in 1986 in an effort to create a separate luxury division for its products. At first, it was just a two-car show: the Legend sedan, which was the first true Japanese luxury car sold in America, and the Integra sport coupe and sedan.

Though essentially a marketing creation for the North American market, the Acura brand was immediately successful. Consumers liked the features, performance and upscale image of Acura cars, along with the fact that Acuras were backed by Honda's reputation for reliability and low ownership costs. In 1991, Acura introduced its crown jewel: the all-aluminum NSX sports car, which offered performance close to that of other exotic cars while undercutting them in price.

As Acura's product line grew in the 1990s, however, the company struggled a bit. Some of its products were duds, and it risked alienating loyal customers when it replaced the Legend and Integra names with alphanumeric designations. The company jumped on the hot luxury SUV bandwagon in the mid-'90s with the SLX. Unfortunately, the SLX was just a rebadged version of an Isuzu SUV, and its quality did not match customers' expectations.

For the new millennium, Acura revamped its product range. An all-new SUV called the MDX debuted, sporting numerous family-friendly features, including a third-row seat. The Integra was replaced with the RSX sport coupe, and an all-new entry-level sport sedan called the TSX was introduced after that. A complete redesign of its most popular model, the midsize TL sedan, followed, as did a redesign of its flagship RL luxury sedan.

By mid-decade the NSX was gone, but Acura filled out its model lineup with the street-performance-oriented RDX compact crossover, the TSX wagon and the ZDX, a fastback-styled crossover that placed unique styling over practicality. Today Acura is still trying to find its ideal niche but there's no denying the quality of Acura's vehicles, nor their appealing mix of performance, technology and value.

User Reviews:

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  Pretty good car - 2001 Acura CL
  By dfettner@sbcglobal.n - December 7 - 2:00 am

  Its a very good car. Fuel economy is not great. But the quality is very good. The engine is smooth and powerful. The ride is very smooth. The features are great.

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  Great Value Luxury Car - 1997 Acura RL
  By ssiew - December 6 - 2:00 am

  This is a great value for a luxury car. Smooth ride and reasonably powerful V6 engine are quiet and efficient. It is a subtle car that does everything right. It is very reliable and feels very secure. Suspension is a bit soft in 1997 model but made stiffer in subsequent years. Depreciation makes it a great used car buy.

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  Killer Kaiser! - 1999 Acura NSX
  By k12dad - December 6 - 2:00 am

  The clutch is too difficult but otherwise, my Kaiser Silver NSX-T is just stunning! It is the same experience as a race car with the civility and dependability of a Honda!

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  This is one of the most underrated cars! - 2000 Acura RL
  By btan - December 6 - 2:00 am

  I have had this car for a little over 3 years now with 60,000 miles on the clock, and I am definitely purchasing the car when the lease expires in a months time. This car is supremely comfortable with a well designed interior and exterior. It has a very high standard of finish, has good safety features, the ride is excellent, the steering feel is great, and the engine is very reliable and never lets you down.

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  LS sdn-Is this the same car? - 1991 Acura Legend
  By bartmanSF - December 5 - 2:00 am

  I bought my acura after selling a 91 bmw 535i (still my favorite) My acura came from a smooth talking texan w/a clean carfax report and spray painted leather seats(to cover the cracks)2of4 bose spkrs not working. In a wk needed batt,alternator,rotors,brakes and still leaking ps fluid about qt/wk. DLR said it needed new rack&pinion assb.(stop-leak for ps 3(x) worked) It had 115k so maintanence was expected-but that was just the beginning.Tran shifts rough and clunks when going into gear (needs new tran mount) hood shocks quit,the a/c comp quit on the hottest day of the year driving to LA on I-5.(est. 1- 2k)cont...

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  For the price, nothing better - 2002 Acura RL
  By RickC - December 5 - 2:00 am

  For a 6 cylinder, this car drives great. I always feel like a million dollars when I drive it. No way that anyone should buy a Lexus, Mercedes or Infiniti for thousands more. This car measures up nicely.

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  Good Enough - 2003 Acura RSX
  By AcuraFan4Life - December 5 - 2:00 am

  After driving a 1992 Integra GS for 10 years without any problems, I decided to make the big switch and I definitely made the right choice. I was thinking about the A4 or 3-Series but realized that the RSX-S gave you so much for $10K less. I realize the Bose isnt as powerful as it should be and the engine is a bit noisy and there isnt a middle armrest, etc. But for the money that you pay, you cant deny that this car not only offers a lot in terms of fun- factor and quality amenities, but also will last you for 10 years easily without any major problems.

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  Poor Reliability - 1996 Acura RL
  By MikeFulmer - December 4 - 2:00 am

  Dropped a transmission at 70K. Needed a new AC compressor at 80K. Window off the tracks at 95K. ABS sendsor needed to be replaced. I must have got a lemon.

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  3.5 RL with Nav Review - 2003 Acura RL
  By CB-VA - December 4 - 2:00 am

  Great car for the price. Picked up 3.5RL with NAV for $36K plus 4.9% Honda financing. Exterior design isnt terribly exciting but its a classic style that will never be dated. Had a 2002 TL before this and traded it in after racking up 25K miles in 10 months for work. This car was priced only a few thousand dollars more than the TL so I couldnt not buy it. The New Infiniti GS35 has a much more exciting design but once you add a steering wheel and tires(nothing is standard on that car) youll be approaching $38K. Acura pricing strategy makes it difficlut to consider any other car.

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  I wish it was more reliable - 1998 Acura TL
  By myself - December 2 - 2:00 am

  Bought the car used, at 70K. The car is perfect, but not as reliable as Honda. I expected it to be as reliable as Honda, but apparently all those nice features introduce failure factors. Things that are supposed to last a long time broke down: a radiator fan started making funny noise, had to replace it ($250), the exhaust manifold got cracked ($1100). Other than that, the car is great, handles well, excellent brakes and transmission.